Beth, who is Britain’s most successful gymnast, joins Sir Chris Hoy, Victoria Pendleton and Rebecca Adlington in ending her sporting career post-London 2012

A year to the day after winning her medal in the uneven bars, the 28-year-old became the latest London 2012 winner to call time on her career.

“It’s been a hard decision to make; gymnastics has been and always will be a massive part of my life,” Tweddle said.

“Following the Olympics I’ve had a lot of projects on and recently I’ve had a bit more time to get back into the gym and decide whether I could put 100% into it and I know now deep down I can’t commit to the hours and training to remain at the very top.”

The three-time world champion, six-time European champion and seven-time national champion is Britain’s most successful gymnast, and there had been much talk over her possible retirement since she added an Olympic medal to her collection last year.

She had already dismissed the possibility of competing at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and now will not go on to the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

She joins the likes of cyclists Sir Chris Hoy and Victoria Pendleton and swimmer Rebecca Adlington in ending her sporting career post- London 2012, while Ben Ainslie announced his retirement from Olympic sailing earlier this year.

“I don’t think my achievements will ever really sink in but when I do look back I can be very proud of what I’ve done and how I’ve done it,” Tweddle added.

She made her announcement today at Chobham Academy, a new school which opens next month in East Village, the new residential development on the site of the London 2012 Athletes’ Village.

She announced the first athlete-led legacy programme on the London Olympic site, to be based at Chobham Academy and known as the Beth Tweddle Academy.

It will form part of a national programme to provide the opportunity for as many children as possible to take up gymnastics, within schools, leisure centres and gymnastics clubs to help develop the sport around the country, run by Total Gymnastics, which was set up by Tweddle and Steve Parry, the former Olympic swimmer.

Tweddle added: “The London 2012 Olympics is where I achieved my life-long dream and now I hope I can inspire the next generation of youngsters by providing the opportunity for them to try gymnastics.

“I’m honoured that Chobham Academy has chosen to support my academy, and it’s very special for me to be able to do this on the Olympic site.

“The school opens this September and my academy will be starting in mid-October it will be open to anyone in the local area that wants to come along.

“I want to give every child an opportunity to try gymnastics. I had to try a lot of sports before I found gymnastics, this way children can have a go; they might love it, they might hate it, but at least we’ve given them the opportunity to try it.”

London 2012 chief and British Olympic Association chair Lord Sebastian Coe was among those to pay tribute.

He said: “During a remarkable career that has seen her achieve unprecedented success at every level of competition, Beth Tweddle has set a new standard of excellence for British Gymnastics.

“She has been an inspiration and a role model for a generation.”

TIMELINE OF BETH TWEDDLE'S CAREER

1985: Born April 1 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

1994-96: Member of Great Britain under-12 squad.

1999: Takes third in the all-around and first in floor exercise at British Junior Championships.

2000: Finishes second on uneven bars at Hungarian International. Wins all-around gold at the Junior Commonwealth Games in Scotland. Finishes 14th in all-around and sixth on uneven bars at Junior European Championships in Paris. At British Junior Championships she takes third place in all-around and first on uneven bars. Also first on floor exercise.

2001: At senior World Championships in Ghent, Tweddle finishes 24th in all-around and ninth with team. Secures first place at British Championships on both all-around and uneven bars. Takes seventh place on balance beam at Cottbus Cup in Germany, and first on uneven bars in Great Britain v Romania international match.

2002: Finishes first on uneven bars at Cottbus Cup. Becomes overall British champion for second straight year – winning on uneven bars and beam, while taking bronze in vault and fourth on floor.

July 27: Wins silver as member of women’s team at Commonwealth Games.

July 29: Takes gold in women’s uneven bars at Commonwealth Games.

2003: Becomes first British gymnast to win a medal at World Championships, claiming bronze on uneven bars.

2004: Wins silver medal at European Championships on uneven bars and finishes fifth with Great Britain team. Finishes 19th in all-around competition at Athens Olympic Games and 11th in team competition with Team GB. Wins silver medal on uneven bars and finishes fifth in floor competition at World Cup finals in Birmingham.

2006: Forced to withdraw from Commonwealth Games in Melbourne after sustaining ankle injury in training. Becomes first British gymnast to win European Championship gold, taking gold on the uneven bars.

October: Becomes Britain’s first ever gymnastics world champion when she wins on the uneven bars.

Wins gold again on the uneven bars at the World Cup final.

2007: Helps Great Britain secure a team place in the Beijing Olympics at the World Championships. Wins seventh successive British National Championships title.

2008: Wins silver medal on the floor exercise and places fourth on uneven bars at European Championships. Finishes fourth in the uneven bars final at the Beijing Olympics.

2009: Wins double gold at the European Championships on the floor and bars. Wins gold in the World Championships floor final held in London but fails to qualify for the bars final.

2010: Retains her European floor and bars titles and helps the British team to a silver in the team all-around competition. Becomes a three-time world champion after winning gold on the uneven bars at the World Championships in Rotterdam but fails to make the floor final. Appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the New Year Honours list.

2011: Wins European gold for the sixth time when she takes the uneven bars title in Berlin.

2012: April: Ruled out of the European Championships following minor keyhole surgery to her knee.

June: Wins gold on the uneven bars in the Olympic trial events at Pipers Vale, Ipswich, and in Liverpool.

August 6: Wins Olympic bronze in the uneven bars.

December 18: Announced as a contestant on ITV1’s Dancing on Ice.

2013: March: Crowned Dancing on Ice champion and then takes part in a spin-off tour.

May: Rules herself out of competing at the 2016 Rio Olympics, saying they are “one step too far”.

August 6: Retires from competitive gymnastics, a year on from her Olympic triumph.

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